Former Guantánamo Bay inmate David Hicks breaks silence over US detention camp

The only Guantánamo Bay inmate to be convicted of terrorism offences has broken his silence, calling on police to relax stringent controls over his freedom since his release from jail.

Hicks: Until the control order is lifted, I will not be able to get on with my lifePhoto: AP

By Bonnie Malkin in Sydney

9:37AM GMT 20 Nov 2008

Australian David Hicks, 33, said a court-imposed order imposing a midnight-to-dawn curfew, restrictions on his travel and a requirement to report to police twice a week was hindering his return to normality.

Hicks also has to submit to fingerprint testing and is barred from possessing any explosives or firearms or any materials related to weapons, combat skills or military tactics.

Speaking in a video released through the Australian rights group GetUp! on Thursday, Hicks said: "I don't know what the future holds for me. The only thing I do know is that until the control order is lifted, I will not be able to get on with my life".

He has not spoken publicly since a gag order imposed by US military officials expired last March.

Hicks appeared largely impassive in the 54-second clip, wearing a blue open-necked shirt for the brief appearance in which he asked fellow Australians for "help".

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The one-year order, which expires in December, is only the second such order placed on an Australian citizen. Hicks is now concerned that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) could extend it.

"I've been living under restrictions that control my life," he said.

"I thought that I'd be able to start getting on with rebuilding my life after my control order expires this December but I'm concerned that the AFP will recommend that the Attorney General impose a new control order."

The AFP responded by saying in a statement that they will not ask a court to extend the order restricting Hicks' movement and communications when it expires.

It's almost seven years since Hicks, a former kangaroo skinner from Adelaide, was caught in Afghanistan and sent to the US military base at Guantánamo Bay.

He was imprisoned there for six years, before agreeing to plead guilty to a charge of supporting terrorism in exchange for returning home to serve the remainder of his sentence in South Australia's Yatala prison.

During his trial, Hicks admitted training with al-Qaeda and meeting its leader Osama bin Laden, whom he described as "lovely", according to police evidence given to the court.

In the video he said while he would tell his story one day and explain why he joined al-Qaeda, he was "still recovering from that ordeal".

"I'm not yet ready to explain what happened or why," he said.

Hicks reportedly suffers from agoraphobia. His legal team and supporters say he is receiving wide public support and offers for work, though he remains mentally fragile after Guantánamo.

GetUp! National Director Simon Sheikh said Hicks's case underscored the need for a rethink on Australia's anti-terrorism laws, which he said compromised human rights for security.

"The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have too much power," the group's national director Simon Sheikh said.